The Gift
by Miadaisyc
Summary: It's Christmas Eve and Nick Miller is in a panic trying to buy a gift for Jess. How will he do? A little bit of light hearted holiday fluff to start the New Year. Sorry I couldn't post it before Christmas. I hope you enjoy it. Please review, PM, Fave or show your support in the usual way. Happy New Year Room Friends. I don't own or ever will own New Girl or the characters involved.


New Girl Story – The Gift

Romance / Humour/Friendship

Notes: This story has been buzzing in my brain for a little while. Sorry I couldn't get it done before Christmas. I am thinking of making it a two part with the second being Jess's POV on opening the gift. I am trying to keep the spark between Nick and Jess alive as I believe it to be. Trying not to make it too angsty and keeping some humour in it…shamelessly referencing movies and things.

"Argh, this is my nightmare!" Nick Miller yelled to himself. He was standing in the middle of Macy's, crammed full of desperate, last minute shoppers on Christmas Eve and wishing someone would put him out of his misery. It never ceased to amaze him how normally sane and regular people could become so rude and crazy at this time of year. Christmas was supposed to be about peace and goodwill, wasn't it? Well there was certainly a lack of it at this store, he thought to himself, watching two women screaming at each other and playing tug of war with a stuffed giraffe.

He couldn't believe he had actually taken time off for this. Right now he could have been in his cozy bar surrounded by happy holiday revellers, getting steadily more generous with their tips the happier the alcohol made them. But no, he had to do his Christmas shopping. It was his last opportunity before he went home to Chicago. Now or never!

His hands were starting to hurt with the gifts already bought, the bag handles digging into his hands, Nick shifted the weight of them slightly to alleviate the pain. Only one more present left to buy, and this one was by far the hardest one.

Allowing himself a brief moment of pride, Nick congratulated himself on how clever he had been with choosing his presents for the guys in the loft.

Winston's present was genius – a DVD of a hilarious new comedy called 'Let's Be Cops' – perfect for Winston's new career choice. He may even learn a thing or two. The lead actors were brilliant and he could always borrow the DVD himself.

Coach's gift was a no brainer, since they'd made a pact years ago to avoid any bad present scenario and just buy tickets to a baseball game when their favorite teams came to town.

Cece had asked for some shifts to be swapped and Nick had agreed. This was her gift, the thought of trying to buy something for her as well had terrified him, but this was easy. Cece had bought him beer. (How do girls do that? They just know what to buy, it's like a magic power or something.)

And as for Schmidt, well, he had decided to go formal with his gift selection and went so far as to register his list at Barneys. Schmidt had spent hours selecting a wide range of top quality items he would be prepared to accept. When Schmidt had presented the guys with the registry information, there had been a lot of shouting and pointing to the 'jar' for a substantial donation. But at this point in his shopping hell, Nick had conceded and went for the least expensive item and watched in horrified amazement as the shop assistant spent the next 15 minutes immaculately wrapping a twenty dollar jar of hair gelato.

No, the guys hadn't been a problem, but then guys were easy. They didn't burst into tears if the gift wasn't exactly what they wanted or in the right color (except that time when Schmidt broke down because the sweater Winston had bought him didn't exactly match his eyes), nor do guys throw a fit if you happen to not get a gift at all (again Nick decided not to include Schmidt in this scenario).

Guys were rational people. He understood guys. Women, well they were a whole different issue. Who the hell understood them? And his roommate Jess, well he certainly didn't understand her. Well, maybe a little…

Nick took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and made a decision. He couldn't just stand here all day. He had a plane to catch and his Ma had been phoning him on the hour since 6am reminding him to not miss it this year. He had sworn on his life that he wouldn't.

A present for Jess, how hard could it be? Why was he over-thinking this? There were hundreds of different possibilities in this store alone. A scarf perhaps, she likes those; or a new purse? She had fewer, after all, since he'd thrown hers out of her bedroom window that time. Come on Miller, just pick something already and get the hell out of here. It didn't have to be perfect or significant anymore. They were friends now; the gift didn't have to mean anything in particular.

'Right, I'm gonna close my eyes and turn around, think of Jess, and then open my eyes and the first thing I sell will be what I get.' He said to himself. Well it was as good a way as any, he reasoned, fate or karma or some such crap.

Nick closed his eyes slowly and made a turn. He was relieved the store had quieted a little, making the movement easier though it also made him a little dizzy and he stumbled. Before opening his eyes he breathed the name "Jess" in a whisper to himself.

This conjured up a montage of images into his mind's eye. Pacific blue eyes, the softest brunette wavy hair that his hands still ached to touch, her petite figure, every inch of which was burned into his memory. The sweetest pouty lips he'd ever kissed …

On this image, Nick snapped his eyes open. This was definitely not going the way he had thought and the experience had left him decidedly unstable on his feet. He hadn't planned on those images coming into mind. These weren't the thoughts of a friend. Those images belonged in the past with their relationship. They had agreed, just friends now. It was all too complicated.

The trouble was- he couldn't remember a time when he hadn't thought of her like this. Even when she had first arrived in the loft, his thoughts had drifted into territory he had to suppress for a quiet living arrangement. She had been his for a year, a sublime whirlwind of happiness and fun and sex and squabbles and make up sex, but now no longer. They were friends again, simple as that.

Only it wasn't so simple. Nick sighed again and spoke her name again "Jess" and raised his eyes to refocus himself, something caught his eye.

Frowning slightly and squinting a little to focus, Nick moved forward towards a set of shelves on the back wall of the store. The corner was a little dark, not being in the glare of the horrendous strip lighting. He moved quickly and dodged the scurrying shoppers as they stumbled their way in their own world.

The object was on a shelf a little higher than Nick's head height and he had to stretch to reach it. There it was, in his hand, the perfect gift for her. It was as if the gods had created this gift and guided his way to it by a celestial light and choirs of angelic voices.

Nick was holding a snow globe, not overly ornate and nothing really out of the ordinary especially for this time of year, but this one was a little different for the scene within the dome was an almost exact replica of Candy Cane Lane. The more he looked at it he could almost see them all standing there shouting at the houses to get the lights turned on.

He shook the globe and watched as it gently fell on the colorful houses and remembered that night, their first Christmas together. Nick smiled at the memory and pictured how Jess's face had shone brighter than the twinkling lights that night. She was radiant and he had made that happen. He also remembered how he had spent all that Christmas back in Chicago with a slightly goofy smile on his face. His brother had teased him relentlessly about it till Nick had pelted Jamie with a load of snow.

Yes, this definitely was the present for Jess; he could even imagine the look on her face as she unwrapped it on Christmas morning, eagerly ripping off the paper at some ridiculous hour of the morning, just like a little kid.

Nick turned the globe around in his hands for closer inspection, checking for any flaws or chips and spots a key sticking out of the base. He turned the key a couple of times and chuckled as it started to play 'Baby It's Cold Outside'. Nick thought this a little incongruous; he had imagined the more traditional 'Winter Wonderland' or something like it but this could not be more perfect as he recalled Jess's obsession with the Christmas movie 'Elf' and how she would always sing the blonde girl's part and would try and get Nick to sing the Elf part. Jess would always call Nick a grumpy elf for not complying but somehow he still found himself humming the tune, and somehow Jess always seemed to be around him, giving him a secret smug smile.

"Dammit."

Someone jostled past Nick and nearly dislodged the snow globe from his hands and once again brought his thoughts back to the store. He adjusted his grip and stared at the object again. This really was the perfect gift for Jess, but a flicker of doubt crept into his brain. Was this the gift he should be getting her now they were no longer a couple? It all felt a bit too intimate and special. Packed full of sentiment and meaning. This was a gift from a lover, not a 'friend'.

Nick pushed down a bubble of resentment that stirred in his gut. Why should someone else get to buy this gift to make someone else smile? It couldn't possibly mean more to them as he knew it would mean to Jess.

Nick reached back up to the shelf to put the snow globe back where it was, the doubt no clouding his rational thought. It was only when he saw a woman cast an interested look at it that he determined that he would definitely buy it. This was his purchase, even if he didn't end up giving it to Jess, no one else could ever own this snow globe. Let them find something else.

Pushing through the frenzy of shoppers he made his way to the cash register and stood in line behind several disgruntled shoppers, each hoping their ordeal would soon be over.

The line crept down interminably slowly, making Nick feel nervous again, his heightened emotions playing havoc with his mind. Casting glances down at the snow globe in his hand and seeing the cheery snowy scene encased his doubts started to ebb and again the thought of the look on Jess's face spurred him on as he shuffled ever closer to the sales desk.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Nick reached the head of the queue and handed over the item and the money to the young cashier, whose name badge announced her to be Kelly.

"For someone special?" Kelly asked with an eager smile as she skillfully primped and fussed with pretty paper and ribbons.

Nick looked up at her, a serious look on his face and simply said, "Yes."

Kelly caught his expression and expelled an embarrassed giggle to cover the pause in conversation. She had expected the cute guy to gush a little about the girl he was buying the snow globe for.

She had been a shop assistant long enough to know that most guys were clueless when it came to buying presents for a girl. They usually chose some tacky sweater or just randomly grabbed items but this guy had clearly thought about his gift. She had watched him thinking about it, his face running a gamut of emotion as he turned the music box on and shook the snow about. There was definite thought and feeling behind this gift. Lucky girl, whoever she was.

She took extra care when wrapping this gift, lots of pretty ribbon curls and a sprinkling of star confetti in the gift bag. Yes, she would show the girl this guy really cared.

Kelly handed over the beautifully wrapped package with an air of reverence that Nick was slightly confused about. Wow, this girl really likes her job, he thought. He was just relieved it was finally done.

He made his way quickly out of the store and onto the street. The cool afternoon air was a great relief from the sickening overheating in the store.

He found a bench and sat down, needing a moment of calm before heading back to the loft. He checked his bags to make sure he had all his purchases. Yes, all present and correct. His eyes looked at the pretty package he just bought. His mind was still acting against him and telling him to just take it back, that it was too much and to forget the whole thing, but he recognized that he was over-thinking things again. He needed to calm down, and besides, nothing could tempt him back into that shopping hell-hole for anything!

Back at the loft, Nick let himself in through the door and he peered around to see if anyone was about. All was quiet, no one there. Perfect!

He moved across to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge, taking a long drink. Grabbing his purchases he went to the sofa and sat down, taking each gift out of the carrier bags and writing the name of the recipient on each and placing them under their Christmas tree in the living room. Carefully taking the preciously wrapped snow globe, Nick considered what to write on the tag. He settled on a simple 'Merry Christmas Jess' and signed it with a small 'x'. She would know. Words were not needed.

Satisfied, he finished his beer and put the empty bottle and carrier bags into the recycling bins before going to his bedroom and shutting his door.

A few minutes later he emerged, plane ticket in one hand and a battered duffle bag swung over his right shoulder. He walked back through the apartment taking a last look around him. He knew the rest of the guys would be back soon and would see the presents. He smiled at the thought of his wonderful room friends and looked at the twinkling colored fairy lights on the tree and to the packages underneath.

One last memory, personal and deeply felt lingered as he switched off the main light and closed the door behind him with a firm click, and Nick made his way to the elevator to catch his plane to Chicago on time.

The end

Authors note: As with all stories, please post a review or like or favourite. It helps keep us going.

Enjoy! Mx


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